


Care to Dance

by Sairyn



Series: Second Chances [3]
Category: Suits (TV)
Genre: Angst, Awkwardness, Feelings, M/M, Marvey Fic Challenges, Past Relationship(s), Sad, all the feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-13
Updated: 2016-10-13
Packaged: 2018-08-22 06:10:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8275546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sairyn/pseuds/Sairyn
Summary: Harvey and Mike reunite. They survived their "non date"- but can they survive the emotional minefields that come after...





	

Mike is standing in the hotel lobby. That is where they have agreed to meet. He checks his watch, then scans the room to see if Harvey is already here. _This should be easy_ , Mike thinks. And in some ways it is. Well, sure, the waiting is a bit challenging. Mike has to remind himself to stop biting his lips as he waits. Harvey always liked to make an entrance and tonight he doesn’t disappoint. While Mike stands among a group of strangers like a girl waiting for her date at the door, Harvey struts in like he is the headliner and not the celebrity chef they are here to enjoy. It takes him a moment to see Mike, and for that Mike is grateful, because he isn’t sure he remembers how to breathe when he watches the man of his dreams walk through the glass doors. Is this what _feeling_ feels like, he wonders silently taking in the sight in front of him. And when Harvey finally meets his eyes, the years slip away. All of a sudden he is there- right there, in front of him, surrounding him, pulling him close in an embrace that feels new and familiar at the same time. And for a brief infinitesimal moment, Mike feels something else, something he hasn’t felt in years. He feels like he is home. 

“You look amazing,” Harvey whispers as he pulls back.

Mike feels himself blush. He studies the face in front of him. Notes the additional smile lines around Harvey’s eyes; the few gray wisps around the hairline. He knows they both show the wear of the years they spent apart. Time has been kind to Harvey. Although truth be told, it wouldn’t matter. Mike never did get caught up in the “wrapping paper”, as he has been known to call superficial traits.

“So do you. Still gorgeous, I see.”

The moment seems to stretch out. There is so much to say and yet nothing that can be said. Not here, not now. They are attending an interactive dinner event. Mike has chosen that on purpose, unsure if meeting after all those years was indeed a good idea. The last thing he wanted for their first conversation was to be some intimate affair. So instead, they are with a crowd. Safe enough to have moments of conversation, but not long enough to have the awkward one; the one Mike knows will come eventually. Tonight, he is protected from that; they both are.  

As they take their seats it becomes simple. Not to say there aren’t a few times when it seems the moment is bigger than the two of them. More than once, Mike catches himself forgetting what day, what year it is as they both settle into old habits and routines. Things like Mike making sure that those items that he remembers Harvey doesn’t eat find their way to _his_ plate and Harvey ordering his favorite drink- despite it not “being on the menu”. It’s only when there is a change- something new that has developed in the decade that they have spent apart, is he reminded that they are not a couple anymore, but just two old friends trying to reconnect.

The hours fly by, and the night comes to a close. Real life is calling, the clock striking midnight. “Where did the time go?” Mike murmurs out loud as they walk towards their cars.

“Will you call me when you have made it home so I know you are safe?” Harvey asks.

Warmth spreads through Mike, colliding with memories of a different time.

“Of course.”

And as they embrace under the dark sky, Harvey’s soft lips meet his own.

“I love you,” Harvey utters, his eyes shining.

Once again, Mike responds automatically. “I love you too.”

It is unexpected and yet not. They have done this so many times. And so their new story begins. Only this time it’s a bit more complicated; like most things in life. Mike used to believe falling in love was easy. That is what the fairy tales tell you. And for Mike and Harvey, it once was the easiest thing in the world. But today, the space between “loving” and “being in love” is a chasm as wide as Lake Victoria. And at the moment, neither him nor Harvey are interested in crossing it. _But how easy would it be_ , Mike wonders as he drives back to his apartment. He looks at his left hand- the one that once wore a band committing him to Harvey and until a couple of months ago, a different one that tied him to Rachel. It feels naked and bare; the visible shadow reminding him that he is not yet whole.

****

Harvey calls the next night. The conversation is stilted, terse; not in anger but caution. Without thinking, emotions and words bubble up to the surface. But that is what grown ups do, right? They speak their truths and accept the results of those words- no matter what. So when Harvey tells him how much he himself has changed, how time has been both kind and cruel in Mike’s absence, but that he is finally in a good place and ready to find someone again- Mike can’t do nothing but feel a pang of jealousy. Because he knows Harvey isn’t talking about him. And even if he was, Mike is not in the same place. Funny. When they started dating all those years ago, it was Mike who was all in; he was the one who fought for the commitment, the entire package. While Harvey, despite wanting Mike, wasn’t quite ready for much else. Mike never had good timing. Maybe if they had just waited until they were in the same place. Maybe things wouldn’t have turned out the way they did. Harvey’s voice brings him back to the present.

“I had a great time. I can’t believe I got to see you.  I’m so glad to have you back in my life, Mike,” Harvey murmurs, his voice thick with emotion.

Mike takes a deep breath, trying to will his brain into forming a sentence. But like always, it somehow fails when it comes to Harvey and his mouth blurts out pure emotion. “ Me too. I missed you. More than you know.”

“Goodnight, Mike. I love you.”

“Goodnight, Harvey.  Love you too.”

The silence that follows before the call ends is eerily loud. _Dangerous_ , Mike thinks.

Harvey must agree, because for the next few weeks, he texts instead of calls. Mike gets it, he truly does. Texting is safe; its simple. And despite the occasional rush of disappointment of knowing why they are keeping this distance, deep down Mike is thankful for the reprieve. Because on a screen, words can be parsed, erased, reworked, in an attempt to avoid the emotional minefields they both seem to be dancing around. Twist, turn, pivot; keep the conversation light, easy. Nothing too deep, nothing that would send one or both of them over the perilous edge they are so close to. He tells himself to not over think; to remember that they were friends, good friends, before they were lovers. And right now friendship is all he has to offer. It doesn’t matter if his heart still belongs to Harvey, right?

Mike finds himself waking in the middle of the night sometimes. The remnants of a dream sitting on the edge of his consciousness. He can still hear the fading chords of a melody, feel the soft imprint of fingers around his wrist, and Harvey’s voice in his ear. “Care to dance?”

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Seriously, this series is killing me. I am trying to find a way to bring our boys back together- but so far my pen wont let me. Stay tuned. Props to Novemberhush and Writingtoreachyou for dealing with all my emotions as I wrote this. And thanks to Sal-si-puedes for tackling my all over the place tense switches.


End file.
